Sorry about the late reply. I thought that I had answered before now. I must have been lost in the bit bucket.

I have not messed with the torque setting. The control board seems to be very similar to the original board in the 7X lathes. I know that if I increased the torque it would draw more amperage thru the components and generate more heat. The 7X boards have a history of giving up the ghost if they were overloaded to many times.

Like you I really hate to have to repair or modify a tool to make it do what it was basically supposed to do.

Outside of really cheep modes for the mini mill I have decided to get a bigger mill. It might make a great CNC machine where you are only taking .005 DOC cuts with a 1/4 end mill. It just does not seem to have the rigidity to do much else. I am not an expert machinist, but I do have a background of working in a machine shop in my teens. I am aware of the effects of feeds and speeds.

December 18, 201111:58 AM

rleete

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Yup, looks like the same model.

Did you try any adjustments to the torque setting? There's also a resistor to change out to increase torque, but I find it sadly amusing that they sell a unit that needs to have modifications made to be suitable.

So, based on that I'm going to hold off until I find some more positive reviews. I started to make my own, but quite frankly, I'm sick of making tooling and parts for my machins in order to make what I want.

December 16, 20115:08 PM

David Sobel

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I bought the power feed sold by Mico Mark. It appears to be the same as sold by most suppliers of X2 mills. The motor just does not have the torque at low rpm. If the gear ratio was changed it would not have the speed needed to rapid traverse. Also it is engaged all the time (when you move the table using the hand-wheel you are having to fight the gear train). If you do decide to get on of these make sure you seal any holes from the table to the power feed. I notice that there is another reply with a link to other sources of power feeders. I am going to have a look at it now.

Good luck

David

December 13, 201110:58 AM

rleete

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David, I'm interested in what you found deficient with the feed.

First off, which one did you get? I'm considering the LMS one.

Not powerful enough? Not sensitive enough speed control?

I do know the LMS one has instructions to adjust the feedscrew to prevent binding. Since the X-axis nut has quite a bit of play for adjustment, I would think it has plenty of room to move to permit smooth operation.

December 12, 20118:10 PM

David Sobel

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Hi.

When i purchased my x2 mill I also purchased the power feed. This was a mistake. The power feed made for these mills will not move the table if the gibbs and lead screw nut are set properly. to move the table you have to set the speed to about 50% of max. This is too fast for milling.

David

December 7, 20095:47 PM

Rob

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Check out this article. It's describes some power feeds you can buy for a mini-mill. It also describes some that others have made themselves.

June 22, 20097:27 PM

NateD

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I was curious if anyone uses a power feed for their mini-mill. If so, which is best to use and which one is maybe the most cost-efficient?